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• Anne Carlson
• Aimee Hurt
• Kyran Kunkel
• Megan Parker
• Deborah Smith
• Sara Thompson
• Pat Tucker
• Alice Whitelaw

WDCF dogs are selected for their ability and willingness to work, and, with training, to maintain focus when subjected to a variety of stressful or tempting distractions, such as flushed wildlife, roadway traffic, human observers, baited hair snag and trapping stations, and domestic animals (e.g. livestock and herding dogs). Moreover, WDCF dogs are trained to travel comfortably by car, truck, boat, airplane, and helicopter.

Using modified narcotic, forensic, and search and rescue techniques, WDCF trainers condition dogs to associate the odor of a target object with a highly-prized reward. Initially, dogs are chosen for their intense focus on a toy or food that is subsequently used as a reward. Selected dogs are at least one year old, have a high degree of body flexibility and agility, and possess the ability to concentrate. Training begins with scent introduction in enclosed scent boxes and proceeds to double-blind field simulations in which neither dog nor handler is apprised of scent target locations in advance. Dogs are trained to alert on target odors and indicate a "find" by performing a trained alert such as sitting or barking while avoiding any direct contact with the target object itself. Dogs are trained to discriminate odors and therefore do not alert to non-target scents and wildlife.